Former judge takes on Egypt charter

Calls passage illegal, but court action doubtful

Share via e-mail

Tawfiq Okasha, a TV presenter accused of insulting President Mohammed Morsi, was acquitted Tuesday in Cairo.

By Sarah El DeebAssociated Press
January 09, 2013

CAIRO — The only female judge to sit on Egypt’s highest court said Tuesday that she has filed the first legal challenge against the country’s highly contentious constitution, which cost her the seat she held.

Tahani el-Gebali said she filed her complaint to the Supreme Constitutional Court questioning the legality of the charter, which she said was drafted and passed illegally.

But analysts said they doubted the constitutional court would try to intervene in the charter now that it was approved in a referendum last month. Doing so would probably spark a direct clash with President Mohammed Morsi. Though Morsi and judges have been sharply at odds throughout the constitution-writing process over the powers of the executive and judiciary, judges have hesitated to outright overrule him.

The constitution has sharply polarized Egyptians. The opposition organized massive rallies last month against the charter, deadly clashes erupted, and there were calls for delaying a national vote on it. Still, the document passed by a 64 percent “yes” vote in a referendum in which only about 33 percent of voters participated.

Morsi and supporters of the charter had argued its passing would restore stability to Egypt and complete a rocky transition toward democracy. But the opposition challenged it because it was drafted by a Constituent Assembly dominated by Islamists amid a boycott by liberal and Christian members.

The court is to convene on Jan. 15 for the first time since the constitution came into effect. It is unclear whether it will immediately look into Gebali’s suit.

Gebali, who sat on the Constitutional Court for nearly a decade, was removed from her post because the new constitution reduced the size of the court from 18 judges to 10, in addition to the chief judge. Within the judiciary, Gebali was one of the most vocal opponents to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power, even urging the then-ruling military last year against quickly holding parliamentary elections, because Islamists would probably win the biggest share — as eventually happened.

On Tuesday, Gebali said she asked the court in her suit, filed earlier this week, to nullify the consequences of the constitution’s passage, including the reduction in judges. She argues that the forced reduction violates the independence of the Constitutional Court, as do other provisions in the constitution that she said put the court under the grip of the president, who approves its members, and deny the court’s general secretariat the power to select its own members.

‘‘The threat to the rule of law and judicial independence is what is most dangerous about the decisive moment that Egypt is going through,’’ Gebali told a press conference in which she announced her legal complaint.

‘‘Do these people realize what they are doing to the nation?’’ she said. ‘‘Blood was shed for the sake of this document.’’

Gebali said the article reducing the court’s size was ‘‘vengeful,’’ suggesting it was tailored to remove her and other Brotherhood critics on the court.

The opposition has said it will continue to challenge the document and will demand amendments to disputed articles once it joins the parliament. Elections are expected to be called within two months; but any modification of the charter would require a two-thirds majority of lawmakers to request a change, to then be put to a referendum.

In a separate case, a Cairo court on Tuesday acquitted a fiercely anti-Brotherhood TV presenter who was on trial over accusations of insulting Morsi and suggesting it was permissible to kill him.

In relation to the incitement charges, the court said Tawfiq Okasha was using ‘‘general language’’ not directed at the president. As for the insulting charges, the court said, according to the new constitution, freedom to criticize is guaranteed as long as there is not libel and that Okasha was not insulting.